Three Scrolls of Scripture

Wait, wait a minute.

Listening to this, it sounded as if he were saying, "What is the purpose of the Great Sage's journey? To tread upon the Southern Heaven and shatter the Lingxiao Palace! And if he never returns? Then he never returns!"

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Li Su could not help but widen his eyes. The old monk before him, who had always been kind-hearted and amiable, suddenly looked detestable.

What is going on?!

Didn't I choose Shaolin Temple precisely because it was safe?

Are you kidding me???

Watching the highly agitated group, Tianming took a gentle breath and closed his eyes.

Originally, he would not have agreed.

Even if they were to go, it would at most be just him and Tianxing.

However, the occurrence of one event had completely changed the attitude of Shaolin Temple.

The death of his beloved master, Master Lingquan.

Over the past two years, the group led by Abbot Tianjian had, aside from practicing martial arts, dispatched disciples to gather information.

Their master, Lingquan, possessed a cultivation base of nearly seventy years and had mastered the Dragon Subduing Elephant Taming Art. Yet, he had passed away less than a cup of tea's time after returning. In the martial arts world, there were few people with such skill and so few unique techniques.

However, after two years, they had gained nothing, leaving Tianjian and the others deeply perplexed.

As Western Xia once again mobilized its troops against the Song Dynasty, Tianjian and the others could not help but shift their focus after seeing this news.

Cold on the outside but scorching hot within—the Central Plains martial arts world did not seem to have heard of such a unique technique.

In other words, the person who fought their master, Lingquan, was not necessarily from the Central Plains martial arts world; it was highly likely they were from outside the Central Plains.

There were quite a few countries surrounding the Song Dynasty, though not many.

There were only the Liao Kingdom, Western Xia, Dali, and Tubo.

As for their techniques, Dali's martial arts were extremely similar to those of the Central Plains, and their state-protecting sect was Tianlong Temple, so they could be ruled out first.

As for the Liao Kingdom, the Khitan people relied primarily on brute force and also revered Buddhism, with their techniques being mostly rigid and masculine.

But Western Xia... its geographical environment was dry and cold, it was full of strange people and events, and most importantly, Western Xia had an unclear relationship with a famous sect currently in the martial arts world: the Xiaoyao Sect!

It was difficult to describe whether the Xiaoyao Sect was a righteous or evil sect.

Although their techniques looked as graceful and ethereal as immortals when performed, that could not change the fact that their arts were bizarre. When Wuyazi had intruded upon Shaolin Temple years ago, his internal energy had been extremely strange, possessing both yin and yang while also being able to dissolve others' internal strength; this could hardly be called righteous martial arts.

Not only that, Shaolin Temple had also heard rumors of the Xiaoyao Sect's Vulture Palace. The person in charge was Wuyazi's junior sister, Tianshan Tonglao. Her methods were exceptionally ruthless, and the sects surrounding Vulture Palace were all under her control, encompassing all walks of life.

Soon, Tianjian and the others reached a decision.

Tianwen, Tianxing, and Tianjian would go together to participate in this assembly.

Tianjian would take his disciples to attend the Anti-Xia Alliance convened by the Beggar Sect, Tianwen would head to Western Xia, and Tianxing would follow in secret.

Tianjian took a breath. Originally, they had not intended to bring Xuancheng and the others.

To facilitate the actions of Tianwen and his group, Xuancheng and the others, who had been able to fight the White-Clad Buddhist two years ago, would undoubtedly be excellent at attracting attention. Since that person had ambushed their master, he had likely also orchestrated the involvement of Master Kuxin of Putian Shaolin. If he were present, he would certainly seize the opportunity to strike at Shaolin Temple again.

This trip was undoubtedly very dangerous, but with himself and Tianxing, they could ensure safety.

Furthermore, martial artists participating in a national war was different from the military; they were mostly tasked with fighting enemy martial artists or carrying out decapitation strikes.

For the younger generation, the danger was not that great.

However, even so, they had to be prepared before leaving.

"The Western Xia army has set out, and the formal battle should begin in two months. The Beggar Sect assembly is scheduled for the fifteenth of the first month, about a month and a half from now."

Tianming looked at Xuancheng and the others and said, "You may go, but there is one condition."

The group looked up, staring unblinkingly at Tianming, waiting for the condition he was about to state.

"I have three scriptures here. You may look through them yourselves. If you can successfully master any one of the three within a month, I will take you along. Otherwise, given your current strength, there is little point in going to the battlefield."

Having said that, Monk Tianming produced a stack of scriptures that appeared to have just been copied, handing three sheets to each person.

Taking the scriptures, Xuancheng and the others immediately began to read.

Hm?

Behind the others, Li Su, who was the last to receive the scriptures, felt his entire body jolt the moment they were in his hands, and he froze.

There was no other reason.

The World Book had popped up again!

One had to know, the last time this happened was with the Nine Yang Manual.

In other words.

His pupils could not help but constrict, and a thought involuntarily surfaced in Li Su's mind: could these three sheets of scriptures actually be the Muscle Tendon Change and the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art of Shaolin Temple?

He could not help but glance at the World Book, at the sixth, seventh, and eighth pages.

Technique: Unnamed Technique.

Quality: Super First-Grade (Pseudo-Super Grade)!

Of the three manuals, aside from the eighth page which was marked as Pseudo-Super Grade, the first two were undoubtedly marked as Super First-Grade, meaning they were on the same level as the Nine Yang Manual.

Hiss!

Li Su could not help but gasp.

Shaolin Temple did indeed possess techniques on the level of the Nine Yang Manual, but there were only one or two at most.

Unable to resist, he lowered his head to read them.

However, after looking through the contents, Li Su's brows furrowed, and a look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Especially after finishing all three volumes, the confusion in his eyes grew even deeper.

Without a doubt, the cultivation content within the scrolls was far from simple; things like the Cotton Palm were not even fit to carry their shoes, and even the Formless Calamity Finger could only be compared to the third volume.

But to say the first two volumes were on par with the Muscle Tendon Change or the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art was undoubtedly an exaggeration.

They were far from the breadth and depth covered by the Nine Yang Manual.

The first volume cultivated the method of the Heavenly Cycle, which was somewhat similar to the Arhat Fist's circulation, yet different.

It practiced internal circulation—a method of stillness.

The requirements were contradictory: one had to circulate the energy, yet remain thoughtless and mindless.

Only when the energy spontaneously performed the Heavenly Cycle could one be considered to have entered the gate.

The method of circulation was already complex, involving almost every acupuncture point in the body, yet it required one to be thoughtless and mindless? To let the True Qi spontaneously form an internal cycle—how was one supposed to practice this?

The second volume was also a stillness technique, but it cultivated something different: it cultivated a single breath.

A single breath was drawn into the body, causing True Qi to surge and travel the Heavenly Cycle; as long as that breath lasted, the cycle would continue.

When a single breath could carry the True Qi through the entire Heavenly Cycle, one was considered to have entered the gate.

Setting aside the third volume for a moment, these first two volumes contained barely a hundred characters, and even with the diagrams and explanations, they were actually considered Super First-Grade martial arts? It was truly difficult to comprehend.

However, there was no doubt that the difficulty was extremely high.

Especially the first volume; Li Su simply could not understand it. To circulate energy while remaining thoughtless and mindless? Was this not a joke?

Currently, the Arhat True Qi within his body circulated automatically according to the Arhat Fist's Heavenly Cycle. If he focused his thoughts, he could change the path, but if he did not, the True Qi would inevitably follow the Arhat Fist's route.

It was simply unsolvable.

As for the second volume, the difficulty was also very high, and it was somewhat anti-human.

For True Qi to complete a Heavenly Cycle, taking the Arhat Fist as an example, it took nearly two hours.

His own breath was long enough now, and relying on True Qi, he could manage one breath per cup of tea, but that was his limit. One breath per two hours was simply a joke.

Since Li Su felt this way, it went without saying that Xuancheng and the others all raised their heads and looked toward Monk Tianming.

Monk Tianming said indifferently, "These three volumes of techniques are, without a doubt, the supreme manuals of our Shaolin Temple. The difficulty of cultivation is naturally very high, but once mastered, even if you go to the battlefield, you will be able to protect yourselves."

"This is the prerequisite for you to go, and the only condition. If you cannot master them, then stay at Shaolin Temple."

"Otherwise, going anywhere else would just be throwing your lives away!"

"Leave now. You have one month."